Receptacle support



United States Patet RECEPTACLE SUPPORT Herbert W. Marano, Summit, N.J.,assignor to Wilson Jones Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation ofMassachusetts Application September 22, 1958, Serial No. 762,601

7 Claims. (Cl. 45-57) The present invention relates generally to animproved pedestal or support, and in particular it relates to animproved sheet metal pedestal or support for desk calendars, pads andthe like.

The conventional ornamental pedestals or supports employed for deskcalendars, pads and the like have been formed of wood, synthetic organicplastics and sheet metal and have been generally characterized by theirrelatively high cost. This high cost is a result of the expensivematerial employed, the intricate and costly molds required and the highlabor costs. Sheet metal pedestals or supports are least expensive sofar as the cost of material is concerned. However, in fabricating sheetmetal pedestals, numerous forming operations are required, necessitatingthe employment of many intricate and expensive dies.

It is thus a principal object of the present invention to provide animproved pedestal or support.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpedestal or support for use for desk calendars, pads, trays and thelike.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro vide an improvedsheet metal pedestal or support for use for desk calendars, pads, traysand the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedsheet metal pedestal or support for calendars, trays and the like,characterized by its ruggedness and low cost.

The above and other objects of the present invention will becomeapparent from a reading of the following description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear perspective view downward onto the top of a traypedestal or support embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom view thereof; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 in Figure 2.

In a sense, the present invention contemplates the provision of aunitary, integrally formed sheet metal pedestal or support of thecharacter described, comprising a platform plate having a rear edge andside edges, side and rear skirt members depending from said platformside edges and rear edges and integrally formed with said platformplate, said side skirt members extending rearwardly of said platformrear edge to define outer wings members, and inner wing membersprojecting rearwardly from the sides'of said rear skirt member andformed integrally therewith, the upper portion of said outer and innerwing members being integrally joined to define leg members.

In accordance with a preferred form of the present invention, theplatform is defined by a planar, upwardly rearwardly inclined framemember having a rectangular opening formed therein. The upper and rearedges of the wing members are of upwardly convex arcuate contour andadjacent wings are joined by upwardly convex bridge sections. Anupwardly concave trough is disposed 2 along the forward edge of theplatform and has an underface substantially coplanar with the wingbottom edges. A tray member separably nests in tl'e frame opening,supported along the marginal edges thereof.

Referring now to the drawing which illustrates a pre-' ferred embodimentof the present invention, numeral 10 generally designates the improvedpedestal or support, and numeral 12 designates a mating tray memberassociated therewith. Pedestal or support 10 is preferably fabricated ofan easily formed sheet metal such as a 31 mil. cold-rolled soft steelsheet, and includes a platform defining a rearwardly upwardly inclinedplanar frame member 14. Frame member 14 is formed of front and rearstrips 16 and 18 respectively and side strips 20 surrounding arectangular opening 22.

Depending from the outer edges of side strips 20 are vertical skirtmembers 24 extending rearwardly of strip 18 to form outer rearwardlydirected substantially vertical wing members 26. The bottom edges ofeach of the skirt members 24 slightly rearwardly diverges from the planeof the platform 14 and joins a downwardly concave arcuate edge 30 whichextends to the linear base edge 32 of the corresponding wing member 26.A skirt member 34 depends from the rear edge of rear frame strip 18,being downwardly rearwardly inclined and having a downwardly concavebottom edge 36, the outer ends of which are at the level of base edges32 of wings 26, 26.

Projecting rearwardly from the vertical side edges of the skirt 34 are apair of wing members 40 spaced inwardly from and parallel to outer wingmembers 26. Wings 26 and 40 are substantially of the same configuration,the upper outer edges thereof being arcuately convex, the lower edges 42of inner wings 40 being coplanar with the outer wing bottom edges 32.

The upper and outer edges of adjacent wing members 26 and 40 are joinedby integral bridge sections 44 projecting rearwardly from frame strips20, 20 and of transverse upwardly convex arcuate cross-section. A pairof rubber foot pieces 46, including hemispherical base portions 48, arelocated at the bottom rear corners of the legs defined by adjacent wings26 and 40. Frusto-conical shanks 49 project upwardly from the baseportions of foot pieces 46 and are snugly embraced by the corifrontingfaces of the wings 26 and 40.

A penor pencil-accommodating upwardly concave trough 46a extendsforwardly of the outer edge of front strip 16 of frame 14, and isprovided with a finger receiving recess 48a intermediate the sidesthereof. The underface of the trough 46a, the forward lower corners ofskirts 24, 24 and the wing bottom edges 32 and 42 of the underfaces ofthe foot pieces 46 are substantially coplanar.

It is an important aspect of the present invention that the pedestal 10is integrally formed of a single metal sheet or blank and that it ischaracterized by the absence of any seams. It may be fabricated by asingle cutting and forming operation employing only one set of dies byreason of the improved construction described. The conventional sheetmetal pedestals or supports require a plurality of stamping and formingsteps and a corresponding number of dies, thereby increasingtremendously the cost of the end product which at best is of qualityinferior to that of the present device.

Tray member 12 associated with pedestal 10 includes a rectangular flatbase plate 50 provided with upwardly directed walls 52 along the sideedges thereof. A rear wall 54 projects upwardly from the rear edge ofbase plate 50, joining the side walls 52, and is provided with aforwardly directed lip or flange 56 along its upper edge. Formed in therear wall 54 are a pair of laterally spaced outwardly and upwardlydirected resilient tongues 3 58. The upper corners of the tray sidewalls 52 project rearwardly to form stop or abutment members 60 havinglinear bottom edges spaced above the upper ends of the tongues 53 adistance approximately equal to the thickness of rear strip 18 of frameExtending inwardly from the front edges of the tray side walls 52 are apair of narrow panels 63, the confronting inner edges of which aresubstantially spaced from each other. A pair of laterally spacedforwardly directed tongue members 64 are located along and slightlybelow the forward underface of base plate 50 In assembling tray 12 andpedestal 10, tongues 64 are inserted under the trailing edge of thefront strip 16 of frame 14 so that the trailing border of the strip 16is embraced between the confronting faces of tray base plate 50 andtongues 64. Tray 12 is then pressed down-- wardly through opening 2 inthe support and pedestal, tongues 58 sliding along the leading edge ofrear strip 18 of frame 14, resiliently urging the tongues 58 inwardly.When the underface of the abutments 60 make contact with the upper faceof rear strip 18, the tongues 58 clear the strip 18 and springoutwardly, thereby to lock tray 12 in assembled condition with thepedestal 1-0. The base plate 50 in the assembled article is preferablybut not necessarily upwardly rearwardly inclined but at a lesser anglethan the platform 14. Moreover, the tray side walls 52 substantiallyabut the inner edges of the frame side strips 20.

While there has been illustrated and described a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, it is apparent that numerous alterations andomissions may be made Without departing from the spirit of the claimsappended hereto.

I claim:

1. A unitary, integrally formed sheet metal support of the characterdescribed, comprising a raised platform plate having a rear edge andside edges, side and rear skirt members depending from said platformside edges and rear edges respectively and integrally formed with saidplatform plate, said side skirt members extending rearwardly of saidplatform rear edge to define outer wing members, and inner wing membersprojecting rearwardly form the sides of said rear skirt and formedintegrally therewith, the upper portion of said outer and inner wingmembers being integrally joined to define leg members.

2. A unitary, integrally formed sheet metal support of the characterdescribed, comprising a rearwardly upwardly inclined substantiallyplanar platform plate having a rear edge and side edges, side and rearskirt members depending from said platform side edges and rear edgesrespectively and integrally formed with said platform plate, said sideskirt member extending rearwardly of said platform rear edge to defineouter wing members, inner wing members adjacent said outer wing membersand having upper and rear edges of substantially the same configurationas the corresponding edges of said outer wing members projectingrearwardly from the sides of said rear skirt, and formed integrallytherewith, and bridge sections connecting the upper and outer edges ofsaid adjacent wing members.

3. An improved article in accordance with claim 2, wherein said upperand rear edges of said wing members are continuously upwardly convex.

4. An improved article in accordance with claim 2, wherein said bridgesections are of upwardly convex arcuate transverse cross-section.

5. An improved article in accordance with claim 2, including a laterallyextending upwardly concave trough formed along the forward edge of saidplatform, the undersurface of said trough being substantially coplanarwith the bottoms of said wing members.

6. A unitary, integrally formed improved sheet metal support of thecharacter described comprising a platform defining a rectangular,substantially planar frame member having a substantially rectangularopening formed therein and having a rear edge and side edges, side andrear skirt members depending from said platform side edges and rearedges respectively and integrally formed with said platform plate, saidside skirt members extending rearwardly of the rear edge of saidplatform to define outer Wing members, and inner wing members projectingrearwardly from the sides of said rear skirt and formed integrallytherewith, the upper portion of said outer and inner wing members beingintegrally joined to define leg members.

7. An improved pedestal in accordance with claim 6, including a traymember having a base plate and rear and side walls directed upwardlyfrom the edges of said base plate, a spring clip element formed alongsaid rear wall and engaging the rear border of said platform and a clipelement carried by said base plate and engaging the forward border ofsaid platform opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS931,111 Antisdale Aug. 17, 1909 1,563,508 Maynard Dec. 1, 1925 1,690,137Shulman Nov. 6, 1928 1,911,823 Harrison May 30, 1933 2,609,636 StoneSept. 9, 1952 awhaaw

